The murder trial of police officer Zachary Rolfe over the shooting death of Yuendumu teenager Kumanjayi Walker is due to get underway in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin this morning.Kumanjayi Walker died after he was allegedly shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu in 2019
Constable Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder over the 19-year-old's death in the remote desert community in 2019. After multiple delays — including a last-minute legal battle that sent the case all the way to the High Court late last year — the proceedings are expected to run for three weeks, with selection of the jury to begin this morning.Mr Walker was shot in Yuendumu on Saturday November 9, 2019, and the murder charge was laid four days after that incident.Constable Rolfe and other officers had driven the 300 kilometres from Alice Springs that day to arrest the teenager.
Plans to manage COVID-19 in the courtroom were discussed during pre-trial hearings last week, including by potentially reducing sitting hours, splitting the jury and swearing in "reserve" jurors.The trial will be live-streamed to a courtroom in Alice Springs, where members of the public will be able to view proceedings taking place in Darwin.